Chris Shortt, Chief Information Officer of Shoprite Group, stated that the main objective for the next five years is to meet customers at their point of need, regardless of where that point is, without eliminating physical stores.
In the series of podcasts Meet the CIO, sponsored by NTT DATA, Shortt noted that Africa's largest retailer is working to create a unified customer experience that is equally accessible whether ordering via voice through a home assistant or making a personal selection of tomatoes and fillet in the store.
He emphasized that the physical presence of stores remains active and significant for shoppers, and realizing this promise depends on having a real-time inventory layer. This is why modernizing the company's core SAP retail platform is the most extensive technological project the group is implementing.
Changes in the Role of CIO/CTO
Shortt also shared information on how the role of CIO/CTO has changed: infrastructure is now expected to simply function, and the role itself is shifting towards assisting business colleagues in understanding potential solutions.
Furthermore, he mentioned that about 12,000 Shoprite employees use generative artificial intelligence. The group has developed a gateway that selects the least expensive model capable of processing a request.
It was also discussed how his product teams now combine one or two specialists with multiple agents, and he informed the group's chief human resources officer about new hires who come with their own agents.
Shortt declined to comment on ERP failures at other retailers, instead relying on 'day in the life' testing.
He also spoke about what he tells the audit and risk committee when thoughts worry him, the book that shaped his thinking, and a productivity habit he cannot do without.